


The Prince and the Snowflake

by Karlethandra_Merthensa



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, First Meetings, Hanzo Shimada Needs a Hug, Idiot Soldier 76 | Jack Morrison, Jack being Jack, Little brother Genji, Mei is BAMF, Mei's hugs ;), Miscommunication, Panic Attacks, Parties, Poor Hanzo, Protective Genji Shimada, Protective Mei-Ling Zhou, Protective Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Psychological Trauma, running away from problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12343497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karlethandra_Merthensa/pseuds/Karlethandra_Merthensa
Summary: Humans are conditionable, whether on purpose or by pure accident. To condition someone to know when you ring a bell is dinner time, ring a bell every time you announce it.  Humans learn easily, and most times in quite a fast process.  The accidental ones are the one’s that people most times forget about, however.You can condition someone to fear loud voices.  You can condition someone to fear fast movements.  You can condition someone to fear messing up.That is what our story revolves around today.





	The Prince and the Snowflake

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm still 100% McHanzo trash, BUT Y'ALL I SPENT FOUR DAYS WRITING THIS SHIT AND I AM REAL DAMN PROUD OF IT IT'S ALL CUTE AND SHIT LOOK AT IT! I IS PERDS!

Hanzo stared at the mirror, once again looking over his outfit.  He knew it was fine, he knew it was perfectly put together, but still he wanted to make a good impression.  He was to meet a majority of the former Overwatch member’s today, a meeting they had only been given permission to have if they did it in the form of a party.  So, here he was.  

He checked himself one last time before finally turning around and with a slight moment of hesitation, took the hand outstretched to him.

The archer smiled softly, pulling the hand and it’s body to him as he wrapped his arms around the smaller person.  Well, smaller in height.  Mei-Ling Zhou was anything but a small woman, and although many a person thought otherwise, Hanzo had a very big weakness for her.  Her bubbly nature, her good heart, her ability to see through everything he did and know  _ exactly _ what he was thinking…  It both warmed him and scared him, so after meeting in a Cafe, and then somehow becoming friends, Hanzo had been the one to ask her on a proper date.

He hadn’t been expecting her to say yes.

Now, six months later, here they were.  Sharing an apartment in Numbani, although at this moment in time they were staying in a hotel near the Watchpoint.  Mei had chosen their home after he had hesitantly voiced how he hadn’t liked the place originally, but after a while of thinking he might like to try it again.  So, Mei had packed their bags and they went to stay with a friend of hers for what was planned a few days to see if the Archer really did have changed views now.

Next thing either of them knew, they were unpacking boxes in their new home.

Hanzo was… Still heavily perplexed by the simple thought of having someone to love.  He, a long time ago, had loved Genji, but that had been a simple brotherly love that had ended… Badly.  This, however…  This was  _ better _ .  This was leaving the house with a kiss on the cheek, and coming home to warm arms, a bubbly conversation about the weather, and a personal pillow that  _ somehow _ chased his nightmares away.

“You look great.” Mei promised, straightening out the collar on his suit jacket.  His suit was… Uncomfortable, but it was not the  _ most _ uncomfortable thing he’d ever worn, so he would deal with it if Mei liked him in it.

Mei, however, looked absolutely gorgeous.  A blue sleeveless gown with matching full-arm gloves.  Her hair was done as usual, but there was this..  _ Air _ about the scientist that made Hanzo smile brighter.

“Thank you, Snowflake,” Hanzo said softly, placing a hand on her waist to squeeze slightly.  The scientist smiled brightly, knowing that little motion was his own compliment unspoken, “Are you excited to see your friends?” He then asked, heading for the door, opening it without looking, his eyes completely on the young chinese woman, awaiting the bright-eyed answer he knew was to come.

It took little to no time: Her eye’s widened, sparkling with excitement that she didn’t bother to contain.  Her body shook as her hands came to clasp in front of her heart.  She talked as she headed out of the room, “Oh, most definitely!  It has been so long!  I wonder if everyone is going to be going…  According to Winston the confirmed list is: Lena, Angela, Torbjorn, Winston himself, Genji, and me.  Oh, and of course, you.  I bet that has grown by now.”

Hanzo, despite his joy at seeing her excitement, couldn’t find it in him to smile.  Instead, her worried his bottom lip, stepping out of the room with her before beginning down the hallway, “Are you absolutely sure I am fine to come along?  I would not want to intrude, Snowflake.” He said hesitantly.

Mei paused, smiling softly as she stopped walked, Hanzo stopping along with her, and she reached up to gently cup the side of his face, “I won’t lie to you, my darling Prince…  There will be some who will not want you there, but it does not matter.” She dropped her hand to instead take his and hold it in hers, “What matters is how far you have come, and if the others can not see that, then that is not your fault, that it theirs.”

Hanzo stared at her for a long moment before nodding, “I apologize, Snowflake…  I do not want to ruin this night for you…  We should get going if we are to arrive on time.”

Mei smiled, beginning to walk again but this time her hand in his, “You will not ruin this for me, Hanzo.  It is very hard to ruin anything for me, afterall.” She continued on, oblivious to the man at her side tightened his grip on her hand.

  
  


“So far so good.” Mei said brightly, taking the drink Hanzo had gotten for her.  They had been here for an hour or so, and while Hanzo had gotten many side-eyes, it had done little to dampen his mood.  He all but stuck to Mei’s side, only leaving to fetch her things she softly asked of him, in her own little subtle way of slowly getting him used to not being glued to her side.  It wasn’t that she was tired of it, far from it in fact.  She just wanted him more comfortable.

“Indeed.” Hanzo replied softly, before grunting softly as he was shoved by someone trying to get through the crowds.  This action caused Hanzo to stumble forwards slightly and into Mei, but with quick actions he kept her drink from falling, and kept her from moving.  Once the person was by, he stepped back, simply moving his hand from her shoulder to the small of her back.  

Mei giggled softly, “You truly are great at keeping me upright, Hanzo.” She complimented, and Hanzo rolled his eyes ever so slightly at the double sided comment.  She constantly made little comments/compliments like that in order to remind him ‘Yes, I want you, you are good for me and I you’.  It made Hanzo indescribably grateful.

“It is my job, after all.” Hanzo replied, his own little ‘thank you’.  

Hanzo and Mei’s relationship isn’t  _ normal _ per-se.  Mei is comfortable with saying her feeling, thoughts, and more outloud, whereas Hanzo is more conserved.  Although he would love to be able to hug her, kiss her cheek and hold her hand in public, it just isn’t something that makes him comfortable, and Mei is  _ okay _ with it.  Although she is a more PDA type of person, more than welcoming of hugs, kisses, and more in public, Mei does not push her ideas upon the Archer.  They’ve had some trying moments at the beginning of their relationship, both have learned little quirks about the other.

Mei doesn’t like the feel of silk, so Hanzo buys cotton sheets.

Hanzo doesn’t like the texture of peaches, but he likes to flavor, so Mei buys peach flavored candies for him to eat. 

It  _ works _ .  They don’t know how, but it  _ does. _

The main thing, however, is the fact that Hanzo has his own little way of complementing, or thanking, his darling Snowflake.  Whereas she will openly tell him he looks handsome, or how much she loves him, he has little actions.  Mei doesn’t like her size, and while Hanzo will never demand that she should not lose weight, or demand she should, he let’s her know he’s fine with whatever size she is by actively touching her sides, wrapping his arms around her midriff when behind her instead of her shoulders considering their height differences.  He’s even sent her little word photo’s of things like ‘thic thighs save lives’ on one of her more self conscious days, only for her to come home and demand bad Netflix shows, cuddles, and ramen.  Hanzo was more than happy to indulge her.

Back to the present, Mei gave Hanzo a bright smile, gently touching his bicep as he withdrew his hand from her back, “And a wonderful job you do at it.” She replied.

“He does wonderfully at what?” A new voice asked, the texture of it rough and pitched low.

“Oh, leave them be, Jack,” Another said, this one a moderate pitch and female.

The couple looked over, and Mei had to hold back a shriek of excitement.  One Angela Ziegler and Jack Morrison stood a few feet away, but closing the distance.  Mei took this moment to go and hug the Swiss Doctor, not even noticing as Hanzo calmly took her drink from her grasp in order to not spill it.  The Archer gave them both a polite smile, while Mei then took the time to hug Jack tightly as well before pulling back, “You both look great!” Mei exclaimed, and Hanzo nodded in agreement.

Mercy wore a simple floor length gown, gold in color with her, apparently, normal ‘halo’ crown, while Jack wore a suit slightly similar to Hanzo’s.

“Shimada.” Jack greeted gruffly.

“Mr. Morrison.” Hanzo greeted back, politely once more.

Jack scoffed, “Didn’t expect you to be the polite type.” he stated.

Angela frowned, giving Jack a sharp look before smiling at Hanzo, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Shimada.” She extended a hand that Hanzo shook, pleasantly surprised at the strong grip she had.

“Likewise, Dr. Ziegler.” He replied, giving an ever so slight bow.  

Hanzo fell silent as the former Overwatch members fell into a conversation.  The conversation was of the past, and try as he might, Hanzo couldn’t keep his mind on the conversation.  Instead, however, he found himself evaluating the people around him.  

Dr. Angela Ziegler was as he expected.  Holding herself up high with a bright air and gentle motherly face, her blonde hair framing it to create a glow of an angel.

Jack Morrison was as he expected as well.  Cold, calculating, and distant.  He didn’t seem comfortable at all, and honestly Hanzo could relate, although he seemed to be hiding it better than the ex-Commander.

Hanzo returned his attention to Mei as Angela said something that made her laugh.  He couldn’t stop a small smile at the joy in her laugh, but it faltered as he noticed her hair falling from its pin.  He waited until she was about to reply before he interrupted.

“Mei, your hair is falling.” He said gently, motioning to it.  The younger woman paused, processing the information for half a second before her eyes widened in understanding and her hands moved up to stop her hair.  Before she could reply, however, she was once again interrupted.

“You did not have to point it out, Shimada.  Didn’t your mother ever teach you to not interrupt people?” Jack snapped, crossing his arms with a jerked movement and his glare sharp.

All three people of the group flinched, and even a few outside of the group did so.  Angela frowned, turning to Jack, “Jack, it is alright, I would want you to tell me if my hair was falling.”

“But I am your  _ friend _ , Angela.  How does Mei even know him?  He tried to kill his brother.” Jack growled back.

“And he has obviously come a long way from that.” Angela replied calmly, “He is dressed in a suit, and all but glued to her side.  He is no more comfortable here than you.”

The two continued to bicker, but Hanzo couldn’t hear them.  Instead, all he could hear was one word in his head.

_ Baka! _

Hanzo reached over, gently grasping Mei’s bicep before turning on his heel to gently push his way through the crowd and within moments was gone from the room.

Mei watched him, glued to her spot in shock and a bit of horror.  It took ten seconds for that shock and horror to turn to anger.  To turn to  _ rage _ .  She turned back around to Jack, her brown eyes flaring, “What is wrong with you?” She demanded.

“He was the one who was rude.” Jack replied, completely certain of his rightness in the situation.

“He was doing as I’ve asked him to do, and something he’s done multiple times!” Mei snapped.  The pure rage in her voice caused the ex-Commander to actually take a step back, and Angela frowned, before her eyes widened in realization.

“He shouldn’t even be here in the first place, Zhou.” Jack tried again, “He tried to kill Genji-”

“And I have spent the last six months fighting away  _ nightmares _ of that.  I have spent night after night making sure he slept soundly from melatonin pills to special tea and herbs.  He is  _ healing _ , Jack, and you just set him back at least three months!”

“Why the fuck do you care so much?” Jack growled, “What even is he to you?”

“You truly are an idiot, Jack Morrison.  Angela, I’ll trust you to explain.  I need to go find him…” Without another word, and a sharp glare that caused Jack to take  _ another _ step back from her, she turned on her heel and headed after her love.

  
  


Mei hurried from building to building, not bothering to call out Hanzo’s name as she knew he knew she was looking for him.  Her heart raced.  She hadn’t bothered to fix her hair, and instead just took out the pin to allow it to fall free and bounce around her shoulders as she ran and moved around.  She wanted him back, she wanted him in her arms, she wanted to kiss his lips and assure him, no matter how long it took,  _ no!  No, my Darling Prince, you did not offend or embarrass me, it was his fault not yours. _  She doesn’t want to loose him because of Jack’s stupidity, she  _ needs  _ to make sure he’s okay…!

Finally, almost five buildings over, she found him sitting with his back against a wall his head in his hands.

“Hanzo.  Hanzo, Hanzo, my Darling Prince, I am so glad I found you.” She breathed, dropping at his side and pulling him to her.  Normally she would not do such a thing in public, but damn it all she  _ knows _ he needs it.  He needs to hear her, feeling her, and see her.

“I am sorry.” He whispered, gripping the sides of her dress.

“Do not be sorry, my love, it was not your fault.  You have done it multiple times in the past, and have I ever gotten upset with you before?” Hanzo thought for a moment, before shaking his head, placing his forehead to her collarbone.  Mei gave a soft, relieved, sigh before running her fingers through his little ponytail, “I am not upset with you, Hanzo…  And no, my night is still not ruined.  It was quite enjoyable to watch Jack step back from me when I yelled at him.”

Hanzo pulled back, his eyes wide with surprise and he resisted the urge to move away as she wiped his cheeks dry, “You yelled at your former Commander?” He asked, hesitantly.

“I have been wanting to yell at him for  _ years _ , my dear.  Trust me, I truly enjoyed doing it.” She replied, brushing his bangs from his face.

Hanzo stared at her for a long moment, before sighing softly and pulling her into his lap to wrap his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, burying his face once more in the crook of her neck.  She smiled softly, letting him have her comfort as long as he required.

She doesn’t know how long they sit there, but eventually Hanzo sighs and lets her go.  She stands, turning around and offering him a hand to get him to stand as well.  As soon as he’s on his feet he runs a hand through her hair, and it her expression revealed she just realized it was down in the first place, “You should leave it down.” He said, gently.

“Would it make you happy?” She asked, slipping her pin into her purse.

“Everything about you makes me happy.” He replied, rolling his eyes.  Mei gave him a wide smile, took his arm in hers and lead him back to the party.

  
  


The party was…  Different after that.  He was still not very comfortable being off her arm, but when Angela asked him a question he found himself having a full blown conversation, the topic of the question long gone.

“Truly, it was a shock to see sweet little Mei so bad at Jack,” Angela stated, giggling behind a hand, “Even though it was greatly needed.  The old man has been grumpy since he got here, and although her anger did little to get rid of that, he is certainly more…  _ Mindful _ of his words.”

Hanzo couldn’t stop a small smile, “Yes, she told me about that…  Mei has gotten mad at me on only one case, and I do not want that anger upon me again…  I have to say, she is quite terrifying when she wishes to be.”

Angela smiled and nodded, “Indeed she is…  Although, Hanzo…  Mei insinuated something when she was yelling at Jack.  Are you and her…?”

Hanzo glanced down searching for words before finally giving a simple: “Complete the sentence so I don’t make a fool of myself, please.”

“Are you and her in a relationship?”  
Hanzo let out a soft breath, “Yes, she and I are a couple.”

“For…?”  
“Seven months come next week.”

Angela smiled, “I have no doubts she knows that exact date as well.” she said, cheerfully, “Do you have any plans for your year anniversary?”

Hanzo coughed, almost choking on his breath, “Perhaps we should focus on a day at a time, yes?”

Angela nodded, noting his underlying worry, “Of course.  There is no better time than the present, after all.”

  
  


Mei let out a soft sigh as she watched Hanzo and Angela discuss the latest whatever-it-was in Psychology.  Mei has known about Hanzo’s enjoyment of knowing things about Psychology, but other than a vague interest she hadn’t known he knew enough to keep a civil conversation with the doctor.  The knowledge was certainly something Mei would need to mention to the archer after the party-

“It is nice to see you again, Miss Zhou.” A soft voice said behind her.

Mei held back a squeak as she whirled around, her eyes wide.  The man behind her let out a soft chuckle, placing his hands behind his back as he nodded in greeting.  Mei gasped, “Genji!”

Genji Shimada nodded once again, a soft noise from him that she assumed was to tell her he was smiling, “Indeed.  Again, it is nice to see you, Miss Zhou.”

Mei felt the tension ease out of her, “It is nice to see you too, Genji.  You look…” Her words died off, unable to come up with a sufficient one.

“Not like a murderous looking cyborg?” He tried, chuckling as she tried to deny his words, “Do not try, Miss Zhou, I was not the greatest person when we had first met.  Since then, however, I have indeed grown.  Now…  I hear it was  _ you _ who convinced my brother to come here.  I must congratulate you upon that, as it is a great feat indeed.”

Mei blushed, “It certainly took a lot of convincing, yes, but after a few days he relented.”

“How did you come to meet my brother in the first place?” Genji inquired, tilting his head to the side as a omnic came floating up to his side, “Master.” Genji greeted.

“Genji.” The omnic greeted back.

“Uhhh..  I will answer your question if I get to know who this is?” Mei said, hesitantly.

“Ah, of course, where are my manners?  Miss. Zhou, this is  Tekhartha Zenyatta, my teacher.  Master, this is Miss. Mei-Ling Zhou.  She was one of the lead scientists during the Overwatch days.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Zhou.” The omnic greeted, lifting his hand and moving it in a circle motion she assumed was his greeted..

“Please, just Mei, for the both of you.  It is indeed a pleasure to meet you as well.” Mei replied, smiling brightly.

“Alright, Mei, I answered your question,” Genji said, playfully, “Now where’s mine?”

Mei blinked, “Oh, right!  Uh, well, you’re brother and I ran into each other when I went back to college to update my degree.  I went to a local coffee shop, saw him there talking with a few other men, although none of them were eating or drinking anything, and the other men were dressed in suits whereas your brother normal clothes.

“After they left, with seemingly harsh words according to their body language, I ordered my coffee and headed over to him.  At first he just glared at me, but for whatever reason he calmed and just said he ‘knew them’ and they weren’t ‘happy with him’.  At first I thought it was a gang or something, but then when I inquired his name and he told me ‘Hanzo Shimada’ I connected the dots and realized ‘those were probably Shimada bodyguards’.

“Anyways, after we’d traded names, I grabbed my coffee and invited him to come and walk with me, and after a long moment of just kind of staring at me he accepted.  So, we walked, talked, I told him about how I’d heard about the Shimada Clan and the awful things they can do, he just told me to be careful saying that out loud, and the day ended with us walking back to the coffee shop and going our separate ways.

“I don’t remember how, but somehow we got each other’s numbers, and ended up meeting each other again and again.  Although one time I asked him to meet me at the coffee shop and we somehow ended up watching bad Netflix movies at his apartment after getting bad chinese food from a local shop.  Slowly but surely, we just kinda became friends.  Other stuff happened as the time went on, and then without warning here we are!  Standing here in the building, talking to people.”

The monk and cyborg listened to her rambles and took anything most would consider ‘random comments’ in stride with a implied smile.  However, after her story, the omnic chuckled softly, “Genji, I do believe we are thinking the same thing.”

“Indeed, Master…  Mei, how long have you and my brother known each other?”

“A year and…  Eight months about?”

“Hmm.  And what college were you going to at the time?”  
“Oh, it was just a little thing out in North Carolina called Western Carolina University.”

“And what were you getting updated?”

“My knowledge on science for my ten year absence.”

“And how long have you and Hanzo been dating?”

“Seven months- You evil man!” Mei gasped, her face bursting red in color as she squeaked.

Both omnic and cyborg began to chuckle, and Zenyatta held up his hand to calm them both, “Do not fret, Mei-Ling.  It is no harm done what my student has done, however I wish he would have left it for me to do in a… Calmer, manner.”

Genji had the decency to look sheepish, “I apologize, Master.  I will allow you the chance the next time and all the times after that.”

“Thank you, my student.  Now, is that Hanzo over there, Genji?  The one talking to Miss. Ziegler?”

“Angela, Master, and yes, that is my brother.”

“I think I shall go introduce myself.  You both continue your conversation, I shall not be long.”

Mei and Genji watched as the Cyborg floated away from them, approaching the archer and doctor before he gently interrupted them.  Hanzo took a step to the side, closer to Angela as he nodded in greeting to the man.

“So, Zenyatta is…?”

“He is a monk from the  Shambali Monastery, Nepal.” Genji said, not taking his eyes off Hanzo, “What is Hanzo doing?  Do he think Master will attack Angela?”

“Huh?” She looked over, and noted how close Hanzo was to the doctor, “Oh, no, not at all in fact.  It is a new person, he’s just standing near her for comfort.”

Genji frowned, and snorted, “My brother?  Needing comfort?”

“Do not sound so surprised, Genji.  You know as well as I do he got little when he was younger.” Mei said.

Genji gave a noise of disconcern, “As did I, but look how I came out?”

“You were a snot-nosed brat who only wanted to play video games and fuck girls.” Mei said drolly.

Genji paused, “I meant now…”

“You’ve had time to grow.  The world thought you were dead for the longest time.  Hanzo hasn’t.  Broken, shaped, and broken again.” Genji fell silent as she talked, “He’s made steps towards getting better, but he’s still got a long way to come.  When I first became friends with him I touched his back and he went as straight as a board, as though it was  _ expected  _ of him with the action.”

“Archery…” Genji said softly, “Every Time father watched Hanzo train, he placed his fingers in between Hanzo’s shoulder blades and pushed.  It caused discomfort, and sometimes wouldn’t even remove them after Hanzo straightened as much as he possibly could.”

“Hanzo called it negative and positive punishment.  The negative was the push being added.  The positive was it being taken away.  Hanzo still occasionally flinches from my touch, if he is lost enough in his mind.” Mei said softly.

“What are other things…  What are other things about my brother you have noticed due to the Clan?” Genji asked hesitantly.

“He has a hard time saying thank you, but is quick to apologize.  Some thing it’s the other way around, a ‘pride’ thing or whatever, but no.  I’ve never heard someone apologize  _ more  _ than Hanzo, and that is coming from me.  He isn’t comfortable with displaying his affection of me in public, and just holding my hand is an accomplishment of itself when out and about, although he is more comfortable with it around our home.” Genji made a little noise of happiness as he realized ‘our’ meant she and Hanzo were living together, “He has… Nightmares.  About what happened between you and him, the time afterwards, fightings between him and your father…  There has been many-a-time I’ve had to gently stop him from scrubbing his skin off because he just thinks the blood is still there sometimes.”

Genji let out a soft noise of pain, “Niisan…” He whispered.

“But he’s healing… Slowly but surely, he’s healing.”  
“No doubt with your help.” Genji said gently.

“I surely hope so…  Although I do hope you give Jack Morrison a piece of your mind in private if possible.”

Genji paused, “Why?” He asked.

“He cause Hanzo to have a panic attack.”

Genji stayed silent for a long moment, “What…  Did he do.” Mei took the next few moments to play back on what happened, leaving out the pet names and what all happened after she found him, as to her that was personal.  

“Hanzo fears failure, Genji.  Because of the old expectations put on him by your father, your elders and others, the very thought of failure  _ scares him _ .  Because he pointed out something he’s done multiple times, because it was reprimanded  _ once _ by someone who didn’t know, Hanzo’s conditioned mind freaked out.  In his mind, him getting yelled at was ‘failing me’.” 

After she finished Genji let out a sigh, “I need Master for a moment…” He muttered.

So, together Mei and Genji headed over over to the small group, and as Mei returned to Hanzo side, Genji moved over to Zenyatta, and without a word the monk placed a hand on his shoulder.  The valves on his body opened, releasing steam as Genji relaxed, “Calm, my student.” Zenyatta said softly, “He has received his verdict, however a few strong words from you will not be… Terrible.  We shall do so later.  For now, let us all talk.  After all, this is a time of rejoice and happiness.  Let us hold it whilst we can.”

 

Hanzo laid in bed later that night, and his actual bed in Numbani, not the bed out near the old Watchpoint.  He could hear Mei shuffling around in the shower, and the soft noise of water was soothing most times, but Hanzo too much on edge.  His head still raced from the event just two days ago, and the very thought of doing it again was…  Terrifying.  He knew Morrison was wrong in his words, but he still fear  _ actually  _ messing up.  Like if he hadn’t been able to catch the drink before it would have spilt on Mei’s beautiful dress.  That would have been disastrous, and would have gotten her mad at him _ for sure _ .

It wasn’t as though the couple didn’t ever fight.  In fact, in the beginning of both their relationship and friendship, they fought a lot.  Always disagreeing, but somehow or anything getting the others to see  _ both _ sides, and after they calmed down they talked more civilly, and decided which side they liked better.

And sometimes when they would still disagree, it was okay.  That very thought alone perplexed the archer.  He wasn’t used to people disagreeing with him and finding that okay.  He was used to people pushing their ideas, and their thoughts until he would relent and just pretend to agree while secretly growing to hate the idea more and more due to being forced into ‘liking it’.

Mei let him have his ideas though, and just gave him gentle words of why she thought the way she did, and then let him decide.

He found it wasn’t hard to do the same.

All his life he’s had to fight just to have a single idea that was truly and wholly his.  The Clan never truly liked Omnics.  Never found them okay, or socially acceptable beings.  They had still thought that before the archer left the clan but after he’d gone back, the time he’d run into Genji, he saw Omnics there, working as bodyguards.

Due to that, he’d worked silently on himself.  In between jobs and missions to pay his bills and keep himself fed, Hanzo researched things of the Omnics, and the both the first and second Omnic Crisis’.  He packed himself full of information, and during that time had found himself in Numbani.  The city had made his skin crawl, due to the ways he’d known when he’d first gotten there, and even after all he’d learned it was still all he knew.

But just knowing the Shimada Clan had changed made him fall into a bought of self-hatred.  The Shimada Clan had changed, why couldn’t he?  Why couldn’t someone who was supposed to have  _ ruled _ the Clan unable to stand Omnics other than in passing.  It had taken him a few years and a handful of months, but he finally got it.

The Shimada Clan had changed for the ability to stay in power, so they had to change quickly.  They probably  _ did _ still despise Omnics, but was forced to go with the times.

Hanzo Shimada had changed to get better.  To open his eyes outside of the Shimada Clan, have his own thoughts, and  _ be _ something instead of just  _ existing _ as a face. 

Hanzo took longer because that’s how long it’s  _ supposed  _ to take.  You can’t change ideals overnight.  You can’t change your lifestyle overnight.

So, Hanzo had taken it a day at a time, until he had forced himself to move to North Carolina, where not a year and a half later he had found Mei-Ling Zhou.

And here he is: Back in Numbani, the place not making his skin crawl but instead making him smile as he has as many Omnic friends as Human friends.  That isn’t to say he has a lot of friends, he can count the number on both hands (six), but that handful of friends know about him.  They know what he did in his past and they don’t  _ judge him _ .

Because Numbani is the place of second chances, and of change.

Hanzo flinched as he felt a hand on his cheek.  He looked over, finally noticing the weight on his chest and side as he saw Mei laying against him, her hair still slightly damp from her shower, “Hey.” She said softly, laying a cheek on his shoulder and causing it to bunch up, giving her a very adorable chipmunk look.

“Hey.” Hanzo replied, reaching up to poke the cheek.

She brushed away his hand with a playful scoff before settling down once more, returning her hand to his face to play with some loose strands at the sides, “Are you going to tell me what had you so deep in your head?”

Hanzo stayed silent for a long moment, “How much I’ve changed.” He said.

“Since I met you?”

“Since I left the Clan.”

“Ahhhh…” Mei said softly, closing her eyes and snuggling into Hanzo’s side, “You most certainly have changed, my Prince, and I don’t know how much, or what about you has changed, but I know you have.  Want to know how?”

“How so?” Hanzo whispered, placing his lips to her hair and kissing softly.

“Because you’re with me.” She said, “The journal you keep, it mentioned that you didn’t think you could ever love on your own because the Clan had chosen everything for you.”

Hanzo let out a scoff of a laugh, taking a moment to reply, “Remind me again why I gave you permission to read that…” he mumbled into her hair.

“Because you get your words out better on paper than when they are said.” She replied, sighing softly.

“Mei.”

“Yes?”

“Did you really-”

“Yes I did.”  
“Mei is supposed to be record low temperatures tonight.”

“So you mean it’s supposed to be seventy nine F.” She scoffed.

“You are going to freeze.” Hanzo grunted, “We are used to ninety’s, Snowflake.”

“You are, Prince.  I am still on Arctic ways.”

“Mei.”

“Yes, my darling Prince?”

“Are you using me as a heater.”

“One hundred percent.”

Hanzo smirked, “Are you certain of that percentage, Miss. Scientist?”

Mei looked up at the archer, a sparkle in her eye, “Well, I mean, if you want to make it two-hundred…  I’m sure we could find something to aid in that.”

Hanzo let out a laugh, reaching under the covers to pull Mei on top of him and kissed her nose, “You truly are adorable sometimes.” He said.

She pouted, her hair fanning her face as she snuggled up to him, “Only sometimes?”

Hanzo grinned, “I think you know how to boost up that ‘sometimes’, Snowflake.”

Mei grinned as well, and the two dissolved into laughter that ended with a passionate kiss.


End file.
